Scripture: Romans5:1-11
The
title for today’s message may confuse some folks, for the two words in the
title are seldom used together. To
persevere in any given situation implies that it isn’t such an easy thing to deal
with! But then, our relationship with
God requires commitment and determination, and isn’t the Lord’s salvation worth
whatever it may take? Obviously, staying
on track with Jesus and His ways will never be easy, especially when the world
continues to come against us with temptation after challenge after false
teaching after threats after denial after persecution!
And
where does the “peaceful” part come in?
From the presence of God in our lives!
Think about Jesus’ purpose as He offered miracles, and healings, and
difficult teaching and the love of God for all who would accept it - all at the
same time that he was constantly being accused of heresy and blasphemy by the forces of worldly aggression!
There were those times when He had to
take a very powerful and intentional stand against the false teaching of
others, but through it all, His heart guided Him peacefully to the purpose that
had led Him to the God denying people of this world in the first place.
The
salvation that He would ensure for all who came to the way that He was offering
was never an easy path, even for the Son of God! And yet, His focus remained on saving the
lost and needy, those who God sees as “the sheep of His pasture” (Micah2:11-12). And the peace that
sustained Jesus Christ can be ours when we commit to staying the course, no
matter what comes our way.
Read
Romans 5:1-5
When
we come to the Lord for His cleansing and justification, His peace will become
ours. And without it, we will be
struggling throughout this life. So what
will that kind of Peace do for us? It
brings confidence and trust in all that Christ has offered us through
faith. It brings the ability to
gratefully take those risky steps that lead us well outside of our comfort
zone. It immerses divine hope within the
gifted promise of eternity. And above
all, it gives us vision and insight into the glorious truth that our Almighty
God has blessed us with.
The
peace and freedom that comes to us by faith in Jesus Christ will sustain us as
we take that stand on behalf of Jesus and against the illicit lies of the
Tempter. And Paul lays out the
progression of our life in Christ when he speaks of the various levels that
faith will see us through.
As
we grow in Christ, the world will begin to increase its opposition to our
faith, and at first, we will struggle with each new form of oppression. But if we stay strong, and refuse to
surrender to the ways of evil, we will discover that our determination to
remain in Christ will grow stronger by the day, which, in and of itself, is a
gift that the Spirit will enable within us!
So maybe, we really should rejoice that the world never gives up
in its attempts to drag us back into its abyss!
For without them, our faith just might stagnate and weaken, instead of
growing stronger!
But
Paul doesn’t end there – he writes that staying strong in Jesus also builds our
Christian character in ways that we never could on our own. It’s a process of learning and discovering
and experiencing those new opportunities that Christ introduces us to, and
that, in turn, begins to change us even further. We begin to reflect the image of Christ in
all that we say and do and live.
And
if that, along with a heightened sense of the love of God, doesn’t strengthen
the divine hope that sustains our faith, I don’t know what ever could! And it is this hope and love that destroys
any shame and reluctance that may have once been a controlling factor in our
lives.
Read
Romans 5:6-8
Remember
that passage from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 that we talked about some time ago –
that passage that is known as the Shema?
This ancient call to faith is further encouraged in Deuteronomy11:13-21, where we read that to love the Lord and to serve Him in the ways
that He calls each one of us for, that we will find the strength and courage to
resist the allure of the world.
And
in Numbers 15:37-41, there is even more encouragement to carry signs of
faith with us wherever we go, so that they will be a constant reminder to keep
the commands of God ever present in our heart and mind and soul. Remembering all that Jesus has done for us is
one of those prompts that keep us in the right way in life. But never forget the state that we were in
that caused the Glory of heaven and earth to give Himself up to the
forces of wickedness at Calvary. Who in their
right mind would give their life for the ransom of someone who hated you right
from the start?
When
Paul wrote those very familiar words – “While we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us.”, he was writing about you and me! WE are those sinners! WE are the unworthy of earth who caused the
Son of God to do the unthinkable! WE are
the redeemed of earth, who are the very ones the Lord asks to believe and trust
in all that He has proclaimed (Matthew 28: 18-20)!
Can
we even imagine the extent of God’s love for us? That’s what “matchless grace” is all about –
for there is no one else who could, or will, ever love us as much as Jesus
does! And in return, how deep is our
love for the One who did all of this so that we might have the hope to live
with Him through eternity? Shouldn’t we
find the resolve to love Him in ever greater ways?
Read
Romans 5:9-11
The
blood of God that flowed so freely from the cross of Calvary, is not something
that anyone should ever shrink from, but rather something that all should give
thanks for, and joyfully immerse themselves in and through this sign of Godly love
and cleansing. And to think that the
Father asked Christ to do this, not only while we remained unworthy of the
Lord’s blessing, but to make us worthy and secure when we come before
Him on that Day of Judgment!
So we
need to continue to rejoice in all that comes our way simply because we love Jesus
for all that He has done in our life. He
has made us whole; He has made us worthy; He has cleared the way for all who
believe in Him and for all who trust in His word. And faith is the finest way for anyone to
show their love to the Almighty and All Glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
Grow
in Him today, rejoice in Him today, and begin to understand why perseverance in
faith will bring us to the overwhelming peace that only God can provide.
